feudalendeavorfall2014 - Course Journal

Assignment Outcomes

Students will be able to think about material outside of the box.
Students will be able to apply research in contexts beyond formal writing.
Students will be able to cite correctly in MLA format non-traditional sources (such as images and other media).

Relevant Course Outcomes

Students will be able to recognize and articulate the characteristics and transmission history of a variety of literary traditions in different time periods and locations
Students will be able to read works of literature closely and thoroughly.

This assignment is intended to provide you with an opportunity to interact with our readings in a more creative way. It will allow you to think about what interests/troubles/intrigues/confuses you in the readings weekly and represent your thoughts in the design of your choice.

Basic Instructions

You will need a Google account, which you must create if you do not already have one (your username must be recognizable in some way so that you receive credit for your work)
Find your Course Journal PowerPoint in the Google Drive folder created by Dr. T
Create an opening slide with the title of your Course Journal PowerPoint
Each week (there are ten designated in the Course Schedule), create at least (may be as many as you like) two slides relevant to the week's work
Each week of the ten designated, review the Journal of a classmate and post at least one constructive comment

Instructions and Requirements

Adhere to Writing Expectations when applicable
Content slides: at least two slides in each of the ten weeks of the semester designated in the Course Schedule
- These slides should be a representation of your readings or our discussion during the week
- Think about what stood out to you: a character, a scene, a passage, a theme, a connection to something outside of the text, a moment of discussion, etc.
- You may demonstrate this interaction with our material in any way you choose (through images, your own artwork, quotations, discussion, music, etc. - only limited by your imagination)
- There should be at least two slides per designated weeks; however, there may be a different number of slides for each topic (the number is up to you)
- Slides should be created in the week assigned; I will be checking each week and offering comments at various points in the semester, although it will not be graded until the final due date (thus, slides may be added to, edited, and revised after the week in which they were created to respond to my feedback)
  - A 2-points-per-class-period penalty will be assessed for late slides
Group of entries dedicated to texts must include:
- Title of reading and author (if it has one)
- Date of composition (or approximate)
- Time period and country of origin
- At least one quotation from reading (properly cited)
Group of entries dedicated to discussions must include:
- Date of class discussion
Entries should NOT include:
- Summary of plot
- Summary of discussion
- Summary of ANY kind
Final Journal must include:
- Quotations from at least three credible, academic sources to help discuss/visualize the readings; these sources may be used in any combination of entries, but should be about three (3) different topics
  - Sources should be credible (thus, from a respected journal or book)
  - Sources cannot be web sites (they can be sources found in electronic databases)
  - Your textbook is not included in the number of required source
  - Quotations should be properly cited with in-text citations as they would be in an essay (also see Works Cited below)
  - Sources can be those found during Medievalist for a Semester Checkpoints
- Works Cited slide
  - Textbook (if you need help citing the textbook, click here)
  - All academic sources
  - All images (if you need help citing images from the internet, click here and scroll to "An Image (Including a Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph)")
  - All other sources used
  - Note: Works Cited should be a "rolling slide" that is updated each time slides are added to the Journal

Comments on Classmates' Journals:

Be sure you are logged in to your Google account before commenting (otherwise, you will not receive credit for your comments)
You should choose a different classmate for each of the 10 designated weeks
To leave a comment, click on the Comment button in the upper-right-hand corner; in the box that appears, click Comment again. Type your comment, and then be sure to click Comment when you are finished.
At least one main comment on classmates' Journals per designated weeks should include one of the following:
- Constructive feedback, suggesting improvements
- Constructive praise, indicating why an entry is particularly useful or stands out
- Constructive discussion, including thoughts generated by entry
Main comments on classmates' Journals should not include:
- Simple statements (ex. "Love it," "?")
- Derogatory statements of any kind
- Comments that are not constructive in any way (i.e. they should be helpful)
- Incomprehensible language
As long as one of the comments posted is a substantial post,any number of other comments may be posted (note: these may include simple statements such as "Love it," "?")

Click for outside link to checklist

How Course Journal Will Be Graded

The Course Journal is 25% of the overall course grade.

Grade	Characteristics
A	Content slides: ü minimum of twenty content slides, two in each of the weeks designated on the Course Schedule ü information accurate and relevant, includes required information ü correct MLA citation (i.e. in-text) style Academic sources: ü quotations from at least three credible, academic sources relevant to content or approach taken to material ü sources related to three different topics Works Cited slide: ü present and complete (including all images and other media) ü uses correct MLA citation style Organization: ü obvious ease of navigation ü material sorted logically and in visually appealing ways Timing: ü content added on time in relevant week Comments on other Journals: ü at least one substantial comment per ten designated weeks ü each week's comment posted on a different Journal Other: ü obvious effort and work put into Journal ü assignment taken seriously ü potentially demonstrate creative approach to course material ü correct grammar and adherence to Writing Expectations ü significant application of instructor feedback to improve work throughout semester
B	Content slides: ü no more than two under minimum of twenty content slides, slides in most of the weeks designated on the Course Schedule ü information mostly accurate and relevant, includes most of required information ü mostly correct MLA citation (i.e. in-text) style Academic sources: ü quotations from at least two to three credible, academic sources relevant to content or approach taken to material ü sources related to two to three different topics Works Cited slide: ü present and mostly complete (including images and other media) ü mostly uses correct MLA citation style Organization: ü clear ease of navigation ü material sorted mostly logically and in visually appealing ways Timing: ü content added mostly on time in relevant week Comments on other Journals: ü at least one substantial comment per ten designated weeks with no more than one missing ü each week's comment posted on a different Journal with no more than one repetition Other: ü clear effort and work put into Journal ü assignment taken seriously ü potentially shows effort to demonstrate a creative approach to course material ü mostly correct grammar and adherence to Writing Expectations ü attempts to apply instructor feedback to improve work throughout semester
C	Content slides: ü no more than four under minimum of twenty content slides, slides in a majority of weeks designated on the Course Schedule ü information displays some inaccuracies and lack of relevance and is missing some required information ü errors in MLA citation (i.e. in-text) style Academic sources: ü quotations from at least one to two credible, academic sources relevant to content or approach taken to material ü sources related to one to two different topics Works Cited slide: ü present, but missing entries ü errors in MLA citation style Organization: ü basic ease of navigation ü material sometimes sorted illogically and/or in less than visually appealing ways Timing: ü content added sporadically and sometimes late Comments on other Journals: ü at least one substantial comment per ten designated weeks with no more than three missing ü each week's comment posted on a different Journal with no more than three repetitions Other: ü average effort and work put into Journal ü assignment not taken that seriously ü potentially shows little effort to demonstrate a creative approach to course material ü grammar errors and lack of adherence to Writing Expectations ü moderate application of instructor feedback to improve work throughout semester
D	Content slides: ü no more than six under minimum of twenty content slides, slides in limited weeks designated on the Course Schedule ü information displays inaccuracies and lack of relevance and is missing required information ü significant errors in MLA citation (i.e. in-text) style Academic sources: ü quotations from zero to one credible, academic sources relevant to content or approach taken to material ü sources related to one topic or none Works Cited slide: ü present, but incomplete ü significant errors in MLA citation style Organization: ü little consideration for ease of navigation ü material sorted illogically and no attempt at visual appeal Timing: ü content added late Comments on other Journals: ü few comments ü each week's comment posted on limited number of Journals Other: ü little to no effort and work put into Journal ü assignment not taken seriously ü shows little effort to demonstrate a creative approach to course material ü significant grammar errors and lack of adherence to Writing Expectations ü limited application of instructor feedback to improve work throughout semester
F	Content slides: ü more than six under minimum of twenty content slides ü information displays inaccuracies and lack of relevance and is missing required information ü significant errors in MLA citation (i.e. in-text) style Academic sources: ü no quotations from credible, academic sources relevant to content or approach taken to material ü sources not related Works Cited slide: ü not present Organization: ü no consideration for ease of navigation ü material sorted illogically Timing: ü content not added or all late Comments on other Journals: ü no comments Other: ü no effort and work put into Journal ü assignment not taken seriously ü shows no effort to demonstrate a creative approach to course material ü significant grammar errors and lack of adherence to Writing Expectations ü no application of instructor feedback to improve work throughout semester

***+ or - grades will be assessed for work that falls between these categories